


Long Way Home

by SABATHco



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Fluff, Language, M/M, Parents, Profanity, Romance, Sexual References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-15 22:22:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3464216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SABATHco/pseuds/SABATHco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adaar takes Bull to meet his mother. Angst, comfort, fluff, romance, awkward. Post Inquisition</p>
            </blockquote>





	Long Way Home

Long Way Home.  
  
 **Characters: Kaaras Adaar, The Iron Bull  
Pairing: Adaar/Bull  
Post-Inquisition  
Warning: Contains profanity, adult themes, nudity.  **  
  
   “I want you to come with me.” Kaaras’ voice was somewhat stern as he was packing a blanket into one of the leather bags in his room.  
  
   Iron Bull arched a brow. “Er… does your mother even know about me?” he asked awkwardly. He wasn’t used to this. He wasn’t used to Qunari company that had families back home. He’d been brought up under the Qun. He didn’t even know his parents, they were just two people selected to breed and he popped out.    
  
   The Inquisitor stopped what he was doing and faced Bull. “I mentioned you…”  
  
   Mentioned? What the hell was that? Obviously he’d kept something out. What? The fact that he was a spy under the Qun? A guy? Pansexual sex fiend that liked to tie him up and fuck him raw?  
   “Okay. And?” Bull inquired, folding his arms.  
  
   “I may not have mentioned you were from the Qun… originally. I mean, at the time, you weren’t. When we started this, you were…”  
  
   “Tal-Vashoth, yeah, got it,” Bull muttered, it still a wound. He’d fought hard under the Qun and he still personally followed it, but his betrayal to save his men was far more important. They were his boys. He couldn’t let them die like that. Besides, Adaar has been right, he hadn’t truly lived like he was under the Qun for years.  
  
   Moving forward, Kaaras took Bull’s hefty hands into his own. “She will love you, I promise.”  
  
   Bull moved away a little, rubbing the back of his neck. This was strange for him. Falling in love with Adaar was strange for him, and now he was asking to meet his mother? “You do know that I drink, I fart, I snore-,”  
  
   The Inquisitor laughed, taking Bull’s cheeks into his palms so he’d face him. “Bull… I love you. I love your drinking, I love your snoring, oddly enough, and although I don’t love you farting, I can tolerate it.”  
  
   Bull chuckled before expelling a sigh.  
  
   “Do you remember when we first met? You told me that you knew it was important to people like me.” To Tal-Vashoth’s. To people outside of the Qun. He knew he had parents all this time, or at least one of them now.  
  
   “Oh… you remember that?” Bull said, clearing his throat.  
  
   Kaaras nodded as they were still pressed against one another, his neck arched back a little so he could look at Bull with full intent. “I also remember you being horribly rude to me because I was a Tal-Vashoth.”  
  
   “Oh, c’mon, Kadan, I wasn’t that bad.” Bull rubbed the back of his neck once more.  
  
   Adaar raised a brow. “Really? Because I remember it quite clearly. Oddly enough, the moment I saw you on the Storm Coast I was impressed. I wasn’t expecting such an arsehole when we returned to Haven.”  
  
   Alright, so he may have been a little brash with the other, but most of the Tal-Vashoth’s he’d dealt with were traitors to the Qun and savages. Kaaras had been a different case, and apparently his parents lived like civilised people. Like humans.    
“Alright, I made a mistake,” he admitted. He hit his forehead gently against the other Qunari’s as he leant down. “If this is important to you, then I will do it.”  
  
   Moving his hand to the back of Bull’s bald head, the mage pulled him in for a kiss, their lips pressing together.  
  
   A growl came from the back of Bull’s throat. “I guess I could get used to this,” he grinned, pushing Adaar onto the bed. He fell with a thud and he soon moved over him, tearing the clothes off and throwing the bags off the bed.  
  
*****  
   The travel was long, and they had to camp a few nights, but neither Bull or Adaar saw it as a bother. They were finally by themselves, away from the Inquisition, away from the soldiers and messengers who wanted them to do things.  
   Bull liked his personal space, and the tavern was his place to relax, but Adaar hardly got that privilege. He was either writing back to people, listening to what they had to say and taking action. Sure, Cullen, Josephine and Leliana still did their fair share of work, but it was nice to have Kaaras all to himself again.  
   Even though Bull wasn’t much for the whole feelings thing, over the time he’d spent with Kaaras, he certainly pampered him with compliments from both his mouth and other places. The younger Qunari seemed relaxed, but nervous. Bull? As easy going as he looked, was shitting himself at what Kaaras’ mother would think of him.  
   A big, burly Qunari? A murderer. A former Ben-Haasrath spy? Under the Qun? A guy? He didn’t really know what Kaaras’ mother would think about that. Adaar hadn’t mentioned anything. He’d told him that the letters he sent, he’d told his mother that he’d met someone, a man.  
   He moved uncomfortably on Adaar’s Red Hart which was named Derik. Kaaras had let him ride him considering it was a long trip, and considering Bull was larger, he needed a heftier mount. He didn’t seem to mind riding a well-bred Fereldan horse.    
   “Do you even know where she lives?” he asked, scratching at his chest nervously. He’d asked that question a few times now, hadn’t he? Damnit, he was coming off as anxious and he didn’t like it!  
  
   “Leliana was able to track down where the letters had been sent. Albeit late. We moved around a lot… Vashoth and all,” he said, looking at Bull for a moment. “Are you nervous?” He tried to keep back a smirk.  
  
   Bull snorted. “Nah, whoever your mother is means they’ve got to be hot. Don’t worry, ma’am, The Iron Bull’s got your son’s back. Little bit of ass, too.”  
  
   Kaaras rolled his eyes and shook his head. “My mother was paranoid that the Qun would find her and my father. That they’d take me away and re-educate me to be under the Qun. Or kill us all.” This wasn’t really stuff Bull didn’t know already, though.  
  
   “Good thing that whole Corypheus shit happened then. No one’s gunna touch your family now, her being the Inquisitor’s mother and all.”  
  
   “We still have enemies,” said Kaaras, tugging on the reins lightly to stop his mount. He opened one of the saddle bags and pulled out a map, removing his glove so he could make a light with fire in his hand in the darkness to read. “Apparently we’re here.” The letters he’d sent were able to track back to Ferelden. His mother no longer lived in the Free Marches. He supposed that meant she was closer, and perhaps a little safer, even if it was still a long ride out.  
  
   Bull looked around, squinting and shading his eye. “Little barn on the mountain?” It seemed the only light for miles.  
  
   Kaaras shrugged, getting off the horse and taking the reins into his hands. “I suppose we’re going to find out,” he said, putting his glove back on. “Come on. Oh, and we discussed this. You’re wearing a shirt.”  
  
   Bull mumbled to himself as he grabbed the shirt in Adaar’s hand. “Fine,” he muttered, slipping it over his shoulders and buttoning it up. He supposed he’d better look somewhat presentable. He wasn’t sure what Adaar’s mother would think about a shirtless brute.  
   He dismounted and followed the other up the grassy hill. The barn looked even smaller up close, which was strange. There was a paddock with a few rams inside. They were lying down in the darkness, moving their ears and heads at the sound of their steps. He didn’t realise just how anxious he was until they were at the front door.  
   Holy shit, what if this _was_ Kaaras’ mother’s place? He hoped this wasn’t going to turn out like the Winter Palace, where he had to nod politely and call everyone Ma’am and Sir. Who the hell was he kidding, he was going to call her ma’am anyway. Vivienne had fucked with his mind enough. Argh, female Qunari made him feel strange and brought back shit he didn’t want to remember. He was suddenly glad he was wearing a shirt.  
  
   Stepping up to the door, Kaaras knocked gently on the soft wood. The place was run down and old, and out here all alone. If this was where his mother had moved to, why wasn’t she using any of the money he’d sent her in his letters? He knew they were never well off, but being Inquisitor had given him more than enough to support his mother.  
   “Hello?” he asked, hearing movement from within. The door was suddenly pushed open and arms were wrapped around him. He stumbled back a little, Bull moving out of the way just in time.  
  
   “Kaaras!” The smaller female Qunari was in tears at the sight of her son, burying her face into his chest. She didn’t even have time to see who was accompanying her son on his journey back home. She pulled out and looked him up and down.  
   “Oh… look at you,” she wept with a proud smile on her lips. “All grown up.”  
  
   “I was grown up when I left,” Kaaras laughed, his mother taking a step back and giving him a motherly scowl. She seemed to notice the company then. “This is The Iron Bull. This is my… er… partner.” He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck a little.  
  
   “Ma’am,” Bull nodded politely. Damnit, it started.  
  
   “You will call me Lady Adaar,” she said a little accusingly at the sight of the other Qunari. “Qun or Vashoth?”  
  
   “Mother, it’s fine, he’s not going to re-educate you,” said Kaaras reassuringly and giving an apologetic look to Bull.  
  
   Well, it wasn’t a lie, was it? “I’m Vashoth, Lady Adaar.”  
  
   “You’re pretty big for a Vashoth. Someone’s feeding you.”  
  
   “Mum!”  
  
   Bull just gave an awkward laugh before looking away oddly. Great. She hated him already. Damn Adaar and making him come here. He should have stayed at Skyhold. At least the company there was welcoming.  
  
   Lady Adaar gave a quick sigh before opening the door. “Come in, son, please. It’s not much, I know, not compared to your fortress now. Maker… I didn’t set up anything for two… I thought it would just be you.”  
  
   Kaaras stepped through the door and pulled Bull’s arm gently so he’d come in as well. “That’s alright, we’ve brought our own blankets.” Inside was small. There were two levels, but it was still small. It was only one room, a fireplace, a place to cook the food and a small wooden table to sit.  
   “I did send you some money. Did you not get it?” he asked, a little worried. Someone could have thieved it out of the envelope… Nothing new, really.  
  
   “Oh no, I did,” said Lady Adaar with a small smile. “I just… I’ve been putting it away.”  
  
   “You don’t have to live like this anymore. You do realise that I can keep you protected.” Kaaras folded his arms and leant against the wall. “This may have been fine when I was a kid, but we’re not getting any younger. What happens when you can’t take care of yourself?”  
  
   Kaaras’ mother gave him a warning look but sighed. “I’ve hired help.”  
  
   That got the Inquisitor’s attention. “What kind of help?”  
  
   “She’s hired help. She comes around, helps me with the rams, I cook her some dinner. This place was a lot worse, but I don’t want to move anywhere else. I like it out here. I have the peace and quiet to myself, and there’s markets just a horse travel away. I never gave you a stable home, Kaaras… I was hoping to make one with the money you’ve sent me.”  
   She waved a hand. “Enough of me! You’re the Inquisitor!” she said enthusiastically, moving over to her son once more. She took his hand and shook it. “Your father would be so proud of you.”  
  
   Looking down, Adaar gave a small smile. “I’ll visit more often now that the world isn’t being overrun by demons. Keep you a bit of company.” He knew his mother had to be lonely. She never really got over the death of his father. Neither had he.  
  
   “You’re a good boy.” She looked past her son and at the other Qunari. She could see the dragon tooth that was attached to his hip in a small satchel. This was obviously serious between them. It meant Kaaras knew things about the Qun that she and his father had never told him. It also meant this other Qunari, The Iron Bull, was close to the Qun. She didn’t trust it one bit, and she was certainly worried.  
   She hadn’t seen her son for months and months. Letters here in one giant bundle was an utter shock. She’d heard about the events at the Conclave, she knew Kaaras was there. She thought he’d died. The moment she got the letters, her heart was pulled back together knowing he was alive and safe. And one by one, there was a story unfolding. There hadn’t been serious mentions of The Iron Bull, but he’d told her he was with someone, and that they were a male Qunari. She had been a bit surprised by the mention of a man. Then again, Kaaras had always been very quiet about his sex life.  
   “So, The Iron Bull, how did you and my son meet?”  
  
   Bull stood up straight at the mention of his name. “Er… business, ma’am,” he said.  
  
   “Bull contacted the Inquisition. He’d heard of us and thought we were doing good work, so he wanted to join,” informed Kaaras. He rubbed the front of his head, getting tired. He’d been riding all day, he was ready to wrap himself up in a bundle of blankets.  
  
   Lady Adaar nodded. “It’s late. It’s been a long journey, I’m sure. Why don’t you go grab your things and settle in upstairs? We can always continue this in the morning. We have plenty of time now…” Now that the world wasn’t ending.  
  
   Kaaras nodded and tapped Bull on the shoulder, motioning him to come with him. When they stepped out, he smirked. “You can breathe now, Bull.”  
  
   As if on cue, Bull let out a loud exhale as they walked back to their mounts that were grazing, leading them to the stables where the rams were.  
  
   “So, this where you get the whole ram thing from?” asked Bull.  
  
   Kaaras laughed. “Maybe. We’ve always had rams. Used them as carriers when we were moving. We couldn’t afford horses.”  
  
   In the Qun, money wasn’t a matter. You had your place and you served it and that’s how you lived. The Qun still traded with others, but that was about it. That didn’t mean Bull didn’t like money. He did.  
   “You’re really going to make me go back in there?” he asked, Kaaras stopping as he closed the door to the stable.  
  
   “My mother isn’t that bad. She’s just wary, especially of big, buff Qunari men,” he smirked, feeling up Bull’s chest. “We’ll only be here a couple of days, and then we’ll be back in Skyhold.”  
  
   “She hates me.”  
  
   Kaaras leant back a little, looking at Bull. “She doesn’t hate you. Ben-Hassrath training or not, my mother doesn’t hate you.”  
  
   The older Qunari folded his arms and huffed. “She thinks I’m a brute, she thinks you can do better, and she thinks that I’m fat,” he counted.  
  
   “But she doesn’t _hate_ you.”  
  
   Bull gave an unimpressed expression, his arms still folded. This was what he got for falling in love with the Inquisitor and a Tal-Vashoth Qunari. He gave a gruff noise. “Alright, she doesn’t hate me, but she doesn’t like me either.”  
  
   Somehow this was more important to Bull than Kaaras thought it would be. He pulled him closer. “This is the first time she’s seen me since she thought I was dead, Bull. Let her get used to you, let her like you. Just be yourself. If I love you, then she will, too. You’re an easy going man, just be yourself and less nervous.”  
  
   When Adaar tugged on his shirt, he lazily slumped his arms down. “Alright…” he muttered unhappily as he was dragged back inside, holding his belongings at his side. At the sight of Lady Adaar, he picked up his posture. Fucking Tamassrans!  
  
   “Set yourselves in up there,” she said, handing a candle to her son. “There’s an outhouse just behind the stables. I will see you in the morning.” She stood on her toes so she could give Kaaras a kiss on the forehead. “I’ve missed you.”  
  
   Kaaras gave a small smile before he nodded, heading up the stairs. He put the bag down onto the floor, a flat mattress had been rolled out for him and he tossed his own blankets on before he settled down in the very open house. It was cold, and the fireplace downstairs didn’t do much for this area, but they had the warmth of each other.  
   “I know it’s not much, Bull… I’m sorry,” he said softly, sitting down on the blankets and taking his boots off.  
  
   Bull sat on the seat provided and put his own bag down. “Hey, you’re here, and that’s all I need.” He stretched the shirt off and tossed it into the floor, giving a more comfortable breath.  
   He moved to the floor so he was with his lover, scooting over a little. “I’ve stayed in worse, Kadan,” he smiled, pulling him closer to him. “This is important to you. Sure, never would have done it while I was under the Qun, but I’m not anymore. And you’re right, I never really lived like that anyway. Parents are kinda weird for me, yeah, but if they’re important to you, then they’re important to me, too.” After all, he’d gotten quite used to Kaaras being a mage and having all that weird magic shit that he had. He’d learnt to love it over time, this would be the same.  
  
   Leaning into the other, the Inquisitor relaxed before hearing a knock on the wall down below.  
  
   “Kaaras, can I please see you for a moment?”  
  
   Running a hand down Bull’s cheek, Kaaras leant back out of the warm chest. “I’ll be back in a minute.”  
  
   Bull nodded, leaning back onto his palms as Kaaras headed down the stairs. He knew what was coming. They were going to talk. About him.  
  
   Letting his hand off the rail, Kaaras walked under the stairs where the lounge and bed was, the fireplace providing enough light in the night.  
  
   “You never told me you were into boys.”  
  
   Well it was going to come out sooner or later. He cleared his throat softly. “The last thing I thought would happen would be finding anyone in my situation,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t explain more in the letters I sent you. I didn’t think they’d make it, to be honest, considering I hadn’t heard back from you. I… should have tried harder to protect you, to look out for you and find you-,”  
  
   “Kaaras,” said the older Qunari, shaking her head and holding her long, silver platted hair, “don’t blame yourself for those things. I am… _so_ proud of you,” she smiled, tears lightly glazing over her dark ruby eyes. “If your father were still here…”  
  
   Moving over, Kaaras leant down before his mother, crouching. “I know,” he said softly with a smile. He hadn’t forgotten about the bandits that had killed his father. The Inquisition and saving the world had certainly stopped him thinking about it and avenging him, but he hadn’t forgotten about it. It was hard to forget about the man who had taken his father away from him.  
   “I promise to visit you more now that the world isn’t ending.”  
  
   “I heard him call you Kadan.”  
  
   Kaaras stood back up, a little surprised. He supposed it was a very open place, and his mother’s hearing had always been spot on.  
  
   “He’s from the Qun.” Her voice was worried now.  
  
   “He _was_ ,” the Inquisitor corrected. “Not anymore.”  
  
   “And you trust him?”  
  
   “With my life.” Bull had saved his back a thousand times on the battlefield, as he had saved Bull’s. They worked well together, blade and staff. “Bull is… a lot sweeter than you give him credit for,” he said, looking away and giving a small sigh.  
   What they did in the bedroom was not his mother’s concern, and it never would be. Outside of Bull taking control of him, they were equals. They were lovers, and one day he’d hope to marry the other and actually settle down.  
  
   “I’m your mother, Kaaras. No one is good enough for you.”  
  
   The younger Qunari gave a small laugh. “Save the world from a self-proclaimed God but be damned that I have someone to share a bed with at night.” He put his hands back when he realised what that could have meant. He cleared his throat, seeing the look in his mother’s eyes.  
  
   “Your private life is yours to choose, dear. I just worry. I wasn’t there for you when you were taken as a prisoner, and I didn’t know what happened to you. Now that you’re here… it’s hard to let go again.”  
  
   A small smile creased the mage’s lips. “I promise you will see more of me.”  
  
   “And The Iron Bull?”  
  
   “Well, I can’t promise that when you’re breathing down his neck,” he joked.  
  
   Lady Adaar crossed her arms over her chest. “He’s here. I suppose that shows for something. Go on, get some sleep, dear. We can speak more in the morning.”  
  
   Kaaras gave a polite and dismissing nod out of habit. Before he retuned up the stairs, he put his hands on the rail. “I love you,” he said, his mum returning the sentiment.  
   Walking back up the stairs, he saw that Bull had slipped into his pyjama pants and was lying on his back on the thin mattress.  
  
   “So…?” he asked, leaning up onto an elbow.  
  
   “So what?” asked Kaaras, sitting down. He removed his own jacket and shirt and tossed them aside.  
  
   “What’s she think of me? That’s what that was all about, right? Mumma Qunari looking out for her baby Qunari? You see it in bears, ya know…”  
  
   Adaar quirked a brow. “Did you just refer to my mother as a bear?”  
  
   Bull winked with his good eye.  
  
   “Arse…” muttered the mage with a smirk. “Give it time, Bull. She knows you were from the Qun.”  
  
   “So, that makes me bad?” Despite him being under the Qun, he’d never pushed his beliefs onto anyone. Then again, he hadn’t dealt with a paranoid mother Qunari either who was trying to protect her son from the big, bad Qun.  
  
   “Not bad,” Kaaras said, slipping his pants off under the blanket and putting more comfortable ones on, “just… worrisome. Look, she doesn’t know about your past or our past, or really who you even are. She needs time to learn that. All you have to do is be yourself.”  
   He leant onto his side and took Bull’s cheek into his palm. “You have nothing to worry about. You are strong, handsome, polite…”  
  
   Bull rolled his eye and laid back. “Yeah, yeah…”  
  
   “No.” Leaning up, he looked over at the warrior. “Bull, I never thought that this would bother you so much… Since when have you cared what others think of you? Since when have you let emotions get the better of you? If you want, I can always start beating you with a stick again…?”  
  
   The former spy huffed, putting his hands to his large chest. He shrugged, feeling stupid. This was embarrassing, and why he’d rather get hit by a stick. It made everything so much easier. Dealing with emotions sucked!  
   “She’s important to you,” he mumbled. Sure he could play the whole ‘be on your best behaviour’ thing for a while, as long as people weren’t harassing him and he wouldn’t get anyone in trouble if he barked back, but this was Adaar’s mother—his family. He may not know what it felt like to have one, but his family had become his Chargers. If he lost them? If he lost Kaaras? He’d suffer immensely. Even if he didn’t let anyone know or see it. Perhaps he couldn’t stop that from happening.  
   “I just want to be good enough for you.”  
  
   What!? Kaaras sat up fully, looking at Bull. Bull was obviously too embarrassed to look at him. He moved his hand to the warrior’s cheek so he’d look at him, feeling his course facial hair. “Why wouldn’t you be good enough for me?”  
  
   Maybe because Adaar was the Inquisitor. He’d never been in actual love before. He didn’t really know what he was doing. It was a whole combination of things he’d never really made public. He was an open guy, but this was the kind of shit he’d never really had to deal with before.  
   “You’re the Inquisitor. I’m just a mercenary who kills for money and a good fight.”  
  
   “And when has that ever gotten you down before?” asked the mage. He moved over and straddled Bull, sitting in his lap and putting his hands to his broad chest. “Bull, you’re everything I could ask for. You give me what I need and what I want; you’re caring, despite not wanting others to know that. You could do anything to me and I would surrender. I _love_ you, The Iron Bull.”  
  
   Bull watched the ruby eyes closely. He moved quickly and pinned the other beneath him on the mattress. He never thought words like that could ever affect him truly, but Kaaras had made his way deeply into the Qunari’s heart. He loved when Kaaras fawned over him, and it made him very aroused.  
   He leant down and kissed him hard, the Inquisitor letting off a small, surprised noise. “You are… the most… perfect person,” he whispered, a kiss on Adaar’s neck each time he broke those words.  
  
   Adaar gasped, feeling Bull’s erection press against his own in the loose pants. “B-Bull, you’re making me-,”  
  
   “Hm, that’s the point,” murmured the older Qunari, locking lips with him again and flipping him over onto his stomach. He leant down closely to Kaaras’ ear. “I want you to know that I came here on my own terms, not just because you asked me.”  
  
   Kaaras knew this was Bull’s way of gaining control of the situation—which would make him feel better about himself. He gasped as he felt his pants being stripped down his legs, his arse bare now.  
   “B-Bull? Here? My mother…!” A hand came over his mouth so he wouldn’t make a noise.  
  
   “Yes. Here. Now.”  
  
   Kaaras’ eyes closed as he moaned into the rough hand, feeling Bull’s palm cup his now hard member. He didn’t deny what came next.  
  
*****  
   The sex had calmed Bull down and he wasn’t feeling as anxious. He’d fallen asleep with a lot more ease than he thought he would as well. He only awoke when he heard Kaaras move beside him, making a soft noise.  
   Opening his eye, he rolled over onto his side. “Kadan?” he murmured softly. He put a hand onto Kaaras’ bare shoulder, feeling that his skin was covered in a cold sweat, goose-bumps covering him. “Hey, Kadan, wake up.”  
   Kaaras mumbled something as he twitched. He pulled him tightly to his body, pressing the smaller back against his chest. Kaaras was a mage, the last thing he wanted was for him to accidently release some kind of spell whilst he was having a nightmare he couldn’t control.  
   Another twitch and another groan, this one more painful sounding. He heard movement from downstairs and a candle was lit. Lady Adaar had obviously woken up from the noise. This must have happened before if her ears were so sensitive to it.  
   “Shh, I’ve got you,” he murmured softly into the Inquisitor’s ear. He saw his hands tighten and clench. He tried to grab them before anything happened, but the Knight-Enchanter’s sword slashed from his hand and lit up the room.  
   “Kaaras!” he hissed, the blonde Qunari’s eyes shooting open. He’d managed to grab his wrist before the blade had burned through anything and his hand was in the air.  
  
   Panting, Kaaras quickly made the blade disappear as he realised what had happened.  
  
   “Kaaras!?” Lady Adaar came running up the stairs with a candle in her hand in a plate to see the two of them awake, Kaaras looking shaken. “What happened!?”  
  
   Breathing heavily, it took a moment for the Inquisitor to realise what had happened. “It’s fine, mother… I just had and nightmare.” He tugged his blanket closer to his naked body considering he hadn’t put any pants back on after he and Bull had spent the night intimately. He swallowed, feeling the sweat dripping from the back of his neck.  
  
   Bull let go of the mage’s wrist. “You gunna be okay?”  
  
   “I will be… I just…” Kaaras ran a hand over his face, collecting the sweat. “I need some water.”  
  
   “Come downstairs, I will get you something.”  
  
   “It’s alright, I’m fine. I can get it myself.” He grabbed his pants and slipped them on beneath the sheets before standing up barefoot and making his way down the stairs. He didn’t need his mother to see his naked body and the bite on his arse from Bull.  
  
   Lady Adaar put the candle down on the barrel inside the open room.  
  
   “This a regular thing…?” Bull asked. Since they’d been together, the Inquisitor had had a few restless sleeps, but not like that. Not to the point where he’d use his magic uncontrollably. They’d had some incidents during sex, but that was a pleasure thing. This was hardly that. Something had triggered Kaaras. Something had triggered his mother, too. He was a very observant Qunari.  
  
   “I’m guessing you know what happened to Kaaras’ father.”  
  
   “Bandits,” Bull said, making sure the sheet was covering him sufficiently as he was sitting up and leaning on one hand.  
  
   Lady Adaar nodded. She supposed if The Iron Bull knew about Kaaras’ personal past, they were obviously a lot closer than she realised.  
   “When it happened, Kaaras… had terrible night terrors for years. He’d wake up in cold sweats, tears down his cheeks. He wanted nothing more than to get the bastards back for what they took from us…” Her voice turned cold then. “They stopped only when he became a mercenary. I worried for him, but he wanted to prove his strength, that he could fight. He was so determined.”  
  
   Bull’s feelings for Adaar spiked, and a little lust, too. He knew all too well how determined Kaaras could be. It must have been this place. Or perhaps the sight of his mother again, alone, that had triggered his response.  
  
   “He wanted to learn how to defend himself, how to keep the home safe from another bandit attack. I’d never seen him so angry before when another group attempted to attack that band he was in. I’d never seen magic so strong in him.”  
   Looking down at her hands, she gave a sigh. “You two are obviously serious,” she said, motioning to the necklace that was around Bull’s neck now. A dragon? Her son was killing dragons now? The primal Qunari in her was impressed and satisfied, but the mother in her was still worried about the dangers.  
  
   Looking at the necklace, Bull looked back up. “Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I would never hurt your son. I promise you that.”  
  
   How she wanted to believe it. Lady Adaar kept back a worried look. “And yet he comes back with scars on his body that never would have happened if it weren’t for this Inquisition. And you make him battle dragons to prove his love for you?”  
  
   “With all due respect, ma’am, both of us took down that dragon. And I wasn’t expecting him to return with the tooth…” He’d only told Adaar because he asked. Killing dragons, sure he expected Adaar to do that, but when he’d pulled out that tooth? Something in Bull was utterly surprised, and people didn’t surprise him very often. Most Qunari he’d been around weren’t like Kaaras at all.  
   “Your son surprised me, greatly, ma’am,” he said softly. He’d been hit hard with emotions that day, ones he didn’t really know what to do with. Sex was his easy way out of having to deal with those, that and drinking and killing shit. But he’d also made love to Kaaras that day. That whole body, passion and soul thing he’d mentioned when they first met? He felt that for the first time in his life. He understood what Kaaras had been talking about.  
  
   “What were you?”  
  
   “Ben-Hassrath,” Bull confessed, knowing exactly what she was talking about. He saw the distaste in her eyes and he cleared his throat a little. “I was, until… your son changed my life, ma’am. He made me choose between the Qun and the men that follow me. He allowed me to do the right thing for the people I care about, and I’ve never regretted it.” He didn’t know what would have happened if he’d lost his men out there that day on the Storm Coast.    
  
   That was Kaaras in a nutshell. Lady Adaar gave a soft smile before she turned her head, hearing Kaaras come back up the stairs. She took the candle back into her hands. She wouldn’t baby her child, he was no longer a little boy anymore. He was a strong, grown Qunari. He was the Inquisitor He had the best company he could have here, his partner who obviously cared deeply for him. She was happy that he’d found someone.  
   “Good night, boys,” she smiled before heading down the stairs.  
  
   Kaaras sat back down on the mattress, having washed his face down with some water. He was feeling better, but still shaken. It had been a long time since he’d had a nightmare like that.  
  
   “How’s is goin?” Bull asked, leaning back down onto his elbow.  
  
   Kaaras rubbed his arm. “I’m sorry, I could have hurt you.”  
  
   “Ey, you’d never let that happen,” Bull said, pulling him down to lay with him. He tugged him close to his chest again, holding him there. “Your mother seems to care lots for you.”  
  
   “I’m serious, Bull,” said the Inquisitor. “Aren’t you afraid that one day… I could do something to you? As a mage?” He looked over his shoulder, looking at Bull’s good eye. He couldn’t help what he was. He never asked to be able to manipulate magic, it was just something given to him.  
  
   Tugging him tighter, Bull leant his head down onto the hard pillow. “This Qunari’s got thick skin, Kadan. After all, I’ve survived the Inquisitor’s mother.”  
  
   He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little worried while he was down stairs. “Is everything alright?”  
  
   “It’ll be fine,” Bull insisted. “Oh, but I’m pretty sure she knew we fucked up here… I mean, she didn’t say it, but her eyes did. Pretty sure she would have slapped me if she knew you wouldn’t have cared.”  
  
   Adaar laughed softly. That was embarrassing…  
  
   “Are you gunna be okay, Kadan? I mean… this whole thing with your father. You know we can look for the bastards that did that, right?”  
  
   Kaaras swallowed as he stared across the room. They’d talked about it before, when he’d told Bull what had happened the first time. Things had taken over his life being the Inquisitor. He didn’t have time to do it. He didn’t want to send off spies for his own selfish needs. There were more important things to do than look for some bandit that he didn’t even know the name of. Just a tattoo on his wrist. He’d never forget that.  
   “I’ll speak to Leliana about it when we get back to Skyhold,” he said bluntly. He frowned to himself, feeling himself getting angry over it again. Coming here had made him remember. It may not have been the same blood stained home, but the memories still followed him, especially when he was here with his mother.  
  
   The older Qunari frowned. “Kadan, if you need to do that whole talking thing-,”  
  
   “I’d rather the stick beating,” he said back snappily. Kaaras closed his eyes and sighed. “Sorry… it’s just a touchy subject.”  
  
   Duly noted. Bull put his hand onto Kaaras’ shoulder, letting him know he was there if he needed it. “You’re not alone,” he said softly, his naked body pressing up against the other’s. He felt one of the scars on Adaar’s shoulder, smoothing a finger over it. He leant down and kissed it gently.  
  
   Breathing softly, Kaaras lifted his hand to overlap Bull’s. “Thank you for this,” he said. “For coming here. For… putting up with me and my Vashoth lifestyle.”  
  
   Bull gave a small laugh as he settled down in the sheets again. “I’d do anything for you, Kadan.” He never thought he’d say that to someone, but here he was. He wanted nothing more than to please Kaaras in every way possible and protect him.  
  
   Kaaras closed his eyes once more. The rest of his sleep was peaceful.


End file.
